by Paul Distefano; Northeast Regional Sales Manager, DeSisti

A Milestone Year for JAG and Me

This year’s Jersey Access Group Conference on May 14 and 15 wasn’t just another annual gathering—it marked a major milestone: JAG’s 25th anniversary. What a way to celebrate! From the Anniversary Banquet with inspiring speeches from founding members, to the energy and quality of the sessions. With all the connections made throughout the two days, clearly the JAG Conference Committee hit the mark in a big way.

by Yervant Keshishian, Technical Director and Sales Engineer, Varto Technologies

Small stations navigate challenges with smart strategies and strong partnerships

Stepping onto the floor at this year’s JAG Conference felt like coming home. After two days of connecting with station managers, volunteers, and colleagues, one theme was undeniable: every station is focused on creating high-quality content while navigating the challenges of tight budgets, limited staff, and aging equipment.

by Rudy Ellis, CEO, Switchboard Live

As JAG’s newest member, Switchboard Live’s attendance at the 25th JAG Conference was both an introduction and a homecoming. Walking into that conference as an exhibitor, partner, and attendee, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. But, what I discovered over those two transformative days was a community that embodies everything we believe in at Switchboard Live—the power of genuine connection, purposeful technology, and unwavering dedication to amplifying voices that matter.

The JAG Conference Committee has finalized all the panel sessions and roundtables. For details visit: https://jagconference.com

by Geffrey Belinfante, Chair External Relations

There are lots of reasons to attend this year’s JAG Conference and many of them are detailed in this newsletter, but I want to point out some elements that might also be of interest to our JAG members, but they will only be as good as you the members make them—that’s the four roundtables that need your participation.

The JAG Conference Committee has finalizing eight sessions for the Production/Management Symposium on the second day of the conference. Four of these will be panel presentations by industry professional and four will be roundtables that include both JAG members and vendors.

by Bob Nicholson, Station Manager, West Milford WM77 Television
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I attended the JAG 2024 Conference with anticipations of acquiring information particularly about new products from suppliers and of course the workshops. Checking in was smooth and efficient unlike some previous years. My complaint was the printing on back of the badges for the workshops. It was difficult for this old guy to read. I understand the cost of printing can be prohibitive. Since COVID the conference has gone from 3 days to 1 full day. Costs have escalated and vendors are doing less events and thus there are fewer exhibits. Only the major JAG sponsors seem to be exhibiting and many are looking for buyers rather than browsers.

by Jesse Lerman, President/CEO, TelVue Corporation
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TelVue was thrilled to engage with so many of you at this year’s JAG conference. We are proud again to be the conference Diamond sponsor and the technical partner supporting JAG’s Internet Channel and Shared Server. The one-day conference featured an expanded number of sessions. Based on the strong attendance, the conference committee did a fantastic job selecting relevant topics. TelVue was honored to participate in multiple sessions, including Beyond Cable, Closed Captioning and the annual TelVue User Group.

by Christine Federico Hoffman, producer/assistant director, Cranford TV
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The increased use of drones and live video technology are becoming indispensable tools for emergency personnel when fighting crime and communicating to their citizens during emergencies.

by Linda Besink, Treasurer
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My role as JAG Treasurer entails many duties: some interesting, some tedious, but all important and integral to the functioning of JAG. The most visible and exciting is welcoming attendees at the annual JAG Conference. Assisting and answering questions is of great value to our members. It’s also rewarding to me in several ways.